Microscopic Sea Animals (Image 7)

Microscopic Sea Animals (Image 7) Species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, a planktonic (floats in the photic zone of the ocean) Antarctic foraminifera. This organism produces a thick test (shell) made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). These fossilized foraminifera (one-celled sea creatures with tiny shells) were collected from sediment cores from Antarctica. The cores were drilled in areas of the sea floor that until recently were covered by the Larsen Ice Shelf. By knowing what environmental conditions are required by living species of forams, scientists can tell what conditions prevailed in the region when the fossilized specimens were alive. The specimens were collected and photographed using a scanning electron micrograph (SEM) by Scott Ishman, a paleobiologist and assistant professor of geology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and Scott McCallum, a master's student working with Ishman. The National Science Foundation provided funding for the SEM images and the collection of data. (Date of Image: May 2003) [One of several related images. See Next Image.]